Microsoft Announces More xCloud Details

Ahead of E3, Microsoft is sharing some details on its game streaming service Project xCloud. Earlier this month, the company started testing xCloud with its employees, and it’s now providing an update on the project.

Microsoft has already started deploying xCloud blades to datacentres across 13 Azure regions in North America, Asia, and Europe. That means xCloud’s backend is already in a lot of the prominent regions, and Microsoft will likely expand on that as it gets closer to a commercial release.

Microsoft’s Kareem Choudhry, head of Cloud Gaming, also stated that game developers are already able to test their games directly on xCloud without having to port their games to a new platform. “This is just the beginning of our buildout, with our ultimate goal of supporting gamers in Azure regions around the world,” Choudhry wrote.

According to Microsoft, Project xCloud has the “technical capability” to stream more than 3,500 games without needing any modifications from the developer. And when the developer updates their Xbox One version of the title, they will be directly available on xCloud without requiring any further modification.

Microsoft says all the 1,900 games that are currently in development for the Xbox One will also be able to run on xCloud. The idea here is that developers can simply continue work on their games as usual, while Microsoft does the heavy-loading to get these games running on xCloud.

Redmond is staying tight-lipped about the commercial launch of xCloud, however. Microsoft recently called for unity in the gaming community ahead of the launch of xCloud and other game streaming services from companies like Google. Though a potential release date is still unknown — but with E3 coming up next month, I am sure we will get to know more about Microsoft’s plans.